The present invention relates to an ink liquid supply system in an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type.
The present invention relates, more particularly, to a bubble removing device included in an ink liquid supply system of an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type.
Generally, in an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type, ink droplets are emitted from a nozzle at a given frequency. Ink droplets not contributing to the actual printing operation are directed to a beam gutter for recirculation purposes. The collected ink liquid unavoidably includes bubbles.
In the conventional ink liquid supply system, a mesh filter is provided for removing the bubbles contained in the ink liquid. However, the conventional bubble removing mesh filter does not produce a satisfying result, and the mesh filter makes the ink liquid supply system undesirably large.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a novel bubble removing device in an ink liquid supply system of an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact size bubble removing device in an ink liquid supply system of an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type.
Other objects and further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.
To achieve the above objects, pursuant to an embodiment of the present invention, an ink cartridge is removably secured to an ink liquid supply system in an ink jet system printer of the charge amplitude controlling type. The ink cartridge includes an outlet passage communicated to a subtank included in the ink liquid supply system, and an inlet passage connected to a beam gutter via a suction pump for introducing the ink liquid collected by the beam gutter.
An ink liquid tray is disposed in the ink cartridge. The ink liquid tray has a bottom plate which is provided with an inlet opening formed through the bottom plate and an outlet small opening formed through the bottom plate. The inlet opening is connected to the inlet passage of the ink cartridge through an ink inlet pipe. As the ink liquid travels upward in the ink inlet pipe, bubbles included in the ink liquid are removed. The removed bubbles are discharged through the free surface of the ink liquid held on the ink liquid tray. The ink liquid, from which the bubbles have been removed, drops through the outlet small opening, and is stored in the ink liquid cartridge.